Stories about West Indies

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Pakistan has finally managed to drag itself past the group stages and reach the quarter-finals of the ICC World Cup 2015… and what a ride it has been!
The last time Pakistan was expelled from the tournament during our first rounds was in 2007. The same happened in 2003. Therefore, fans have been susceptible to Pakistan’s progress in this tournament. And losing the first two matches of the group stages did little to improve the team’s image.
However, they did recover soon from the initial blows and developed a better team combination – which led them to winning four consecutive matches and ...

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This was the moment the World Cup came alive. Until now, Pakistan and its fans had sleepwalked through the World Cup. The team had, until now, been doing a fairly good job of alienating its fan base.
The mood back home was as sour as one can remember in recent times, after facing humiliating losses to India and West Indies followed by a narrow win over Zimbabwe. But this team has a habit of roping you back in just when you think you are done.
Pakistan entered the match having never beaten South Africa in their previous World Cup meetings, and having won only four of ...

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What do you do when all hope seems lost and there seems to be no way out?
What do you do when all that can go wrong does go wrong?
What do you do when those who support you turn on you?
What do you do when you are backed in to a corner?
Just what is it that you do?
These are some of the questions that the Pakistani cricket team in Australia and New Zealand were confronted with almost a week ago.
After two harrowing defeats against India and the West Indies, Pakistan finally seems to be gathering some much needed steam while ...

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We have been seeing a lot of undue criticism directed towards the decision of choosing Younus Khan as an opener in the matches against India and West Indies.
But if we were to take a moment and try to understand the decision, we would see that the management had sound reasons to choose Younus.
His experience
Younus was included in the squad on the basis of his Test performance, his overall experience and his ability to deal with pressure. All of these traits were needed to defeat India. Pakistan had to find an effective combination for its openers, so sending Younus ...

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First of all a moment of silence for everybody who woke up at 3am to watch this match.
Photo: Shehzad Ghias
Another moment of silence for everybody involved in our team selection. At this stage, one must wonder what Younis Khan has on the team management.
Photo: Shehzad Ghias
Despite losing out on Kohli’s wicket in the match against India, we continued to persist with Umar Akmal behind the stumps.
Photo: Shehzad Ghias
The extremely defensive decision to go to with eight batsmen, including Afridi, was compounded by negative tactics employed by Misbahul Haq in the field.
[caption ...

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When you walk into the world famous wax museum Madame Tussauds in London, there are only two cricketing figures standing – Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara. There is no Wasim Akram, no Ricky Ponting, no other cricketer deemed worthy enough to be immortalised for all of history.
Such was the grandeur of the West Indies team in years past that references are still made, records still intact and trophies still proudly on display. Much like the Pakistan cricket team, their glory days are behind them and the young men on the pitch are falling to shambles relentlessly trying to emulate that which is no more.
Enigmatic and ...

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The 2015 World Cup in Australia will be nothing short of exhilarating, as the stadiums in Australia are the finest and would produce thrilling cricket. This will be the 11th edition of the World Cup.
After the round matches, the real test will begin as the quarter-finals and elimination rounds start.
Let’s have a look at the eight probable teams for the quarter final:
Australia (host)
It is by far the most successful team in World Cup history, having won four World Cup trophies and reached the finals in two. Playing at home will bring a lot of pressure to the team but still they have ...

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South Africa always had the audacity to produce a batsman who could plunder a bowling attack of its confidence with a sweltering knock. AB de Villiers has very ably registered his name in the list of those batsmen in the last couple of years. He has converted himself into a player, who on his chosen day, could drift into a savagery with the willow striking the cricket ball so hard and perfectly that even the opposition is awestruck of his magnificence.
The 30-year-old prodigy was dearly welcomed by Herschelle Gibbs and Lance Klusener in the club of Proteas’ most aggressive ...

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After the spot fixing saga in 2010, Pakistan was in desperate need of a solid opener to fill the gap left by Salman Butt. And it was none other than Mohammad Hafeez who took the challenge upon himself to work his way into becoming Pakistan’s next regular opener in all three formats.
Before 2010, Hafeez had a questionable batting average and his inclusion in the team was criticised because he was never able to establish himself as a preferred player in our team. Despite that he worked hard on his techniques and scored numerous runs against competitive teams like England, South Africa and New ...

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While browsing a leading cricket website, an ad for cricket jerseys caught my attention. The jerseys on sale were replicas of the 1992 World Cup ones that the nine competing teams wore.
The promotional scheme was very aptly captioned,
“The iconic cricket jerseys of the 1992 World Cup”
As an overzealous follower of Pakistani cricket, I have absolutely zero issues with the jerseys being labelled iconic. After all, this was our World Cup.
The 2015 World Cup, like the 1992 one, is to be played on the unforgiving cricket wickets in Australia and their neighbour, New Zealand.
Cricket has come a long way since the 1992 ...